Thursday, 16 August 2012

University Survival Guide: Part 1 - Moving In/Freshers Week!

I've seen tonnes of these posts floating round, and I thought it was a good idea to show prospective students what uni is really like! This time last year I was wading through hundreds of these posts, very useful!

There's not much point rambling on about the application process/results day as that's just passed for everyone! However at this point last year I was still going through Clearing, I didn't get anything clear-cut until around 6pm!

I got AABB in my A-Levels, when I'd hoped to get AAAB. So I ended up at the University of Liverpool come September, which I'm still happy was a good decision to make. The Clearing team at the uni were so, so helpful and really calmed me down and worked me through the entire process. I originally applied to study BSc Geography at Leeds and Nottingham, but it worked out that I studied BSc Oceans, Climate and Physical Geography at Liverpool. I thought I'd just compile a few tips for all you freshers! This will be a long post, so I apologise in advance!

1. Moving in/Freshers Week

- Write lists!
This is a massively important one. You will need to write lists of things to take to uni, otherwise you will definitely forget a lot of things! Split them up, for example into study materials, kitchen things, bedroom things, toiletries, clothes, electrical items etc.

- Keep your door open
Everyone says this, but it's a very good idea. Considering in my halls I was tucked away in a corner, I didn't really need to do this. Just get out into the corridors, help people unpack, make cups of tea, natter about how the journey was. Key phrase for this whole post: everyone is in the same boat. Never forget that! Unless someone's dropped out and come back again, most will be in that same confused state as you.

- Don't feel obliged to make friends with absolutely everyone
I tried my best to make lifelong friends with all the girls on my floor, and in reality we split off into groups. It was bound to happen, you can't have a group of 12 girls following each other around! I'm still in touch in with my little group of halls girls, and plan on carrying on nattering away with them for the rest of my time at uni.

- Don't run before you can walk
It's important to get involved during Freshers, but be warned: if you're not a drinker/go-er out-er, don't chuck yourself into every single stupid club night where you have to dress up like a slutty schoolgirl/nurse etc. It's not fun if you don't normally enjoy that sort of thing!

- Get a diary before you leave!
And then go on to your university website, and write all the important dates you'll need to remember for your first few weeks of term. This helped me so much, because believe me, after a week of partying, you'll not want to think about checking and double-checking dates!

I can tell you want some photos from freshers, don't you? Go on then....